Acting
by Druja
Summary: [Jensen x Jared] His head lolled over from side to side, his bright eyes half closed and blood dripping off his lips. Jared was just acting- doing a damn good job of it- but Jensen was not. Because in his hands wasn't Sammy Winchester, his little brother. In his hands was Jared Padalecki, stabbed and bleeding and hurting and out of place without that stupid puppy grin on his face.


It took all his willpower not to call him Jared.

No, not just willpower; it took _everything._

The entire scene was less realistic with the microphone dangling nearby, and the camera's not too far away, and the people silently watching the performance. And Jensen knew this wasn't real. He was Dean, and he was Sam, and they were brothers, and one of them was being stabbed with a fake knife.

He knew this. But everything inside of him shut down when he saw Jared cough, tremble, and fall down to his knees. Inside Jensen's head he saw a real knife, real blood, and the life leaving Jared's eyes.

"Sam!"

 _Jared!_

He ran over, clutching Jared to his body for dear life, feeling the cold fake blood- _real, sticky, wet and warm-_ on his back. "C'mere, c'mere- let me look at you."

 _Blood. Jared. In my arms. Limp._

"H-hey. It's not even that bad. It's not even that bad, alright?" He sounded so calm. "Sammy? Sam!" _Jared oh god please be okay!_

His head lolled over from side to side, his bright eyes half closed and blood dripping off his lips. Jared was just acting- _d_ _oing a damn good job of it-_ but Jensen was not. Because in his hands wasn't Sammy Winchester, his little brother. In his hands was Jared Padalecki, stabbed and bleeding and hurting and out of place without that _stupid_ puppy grin on his face. Smiling, joking, his pranking best friend, his partner in crime.

"Hey listen to me, we're gonna patch you up okay?" He swallowed, barely able to choke out his lines. "You'll be as good as new." He just had to remember; they're actors, and all this was makeup, and Jared was acting.

 _Dying. Death. Choking on blood. Blood... Jared, oh god..._

"I'm gonna take care of you. I'm going to take care of you. I gotcha." "Dean's" voice was cracking and showing more sign of "Jensen", and he struggled to pull it together.

"That's my job, right? Take care of my pain in the ass little brother?" _Gigantic puppy-like best friend._

Jared's eyes closed on cue for the next shot, but it still sent a wave of panic throughout Jensen.

"Sam? Sam?"

 _Jared I've had enough of this. Open your eyes and be okay._ He ran his fingers through Jared's long hair, trying to hold his heavy head upright.

And just then, Jared went fully limp, falling into his arms. "Sam? Sam! Sammy!" He clutched Jared even tighter in his arms, his head resting on his shoulder. "No. No no no no no no no." He pleaded this like a mantra, like Dean would do, and couldn't help the very real plea come off his lips. He could feel Jared's small breaths from his nose near his neck, and the feeling of a slight smile that told Jensen that he thought he was doing a good job, but none of this helped the tears welling up in his eyes, and his hands clutching at Jared's body, trying to feel all of it like he missed something somewhere- perhaps a cure to a knife wound- and it would magically appear.

His face was pained at a pathetic attempt at not to cry as his hands went around Jared's waist to hug him tightly to his chest. A moment of silence was required to make the scene more dramatic, but Jensen could give a rat's ass about the damn scene. _Jared_ was _dying!_ Did they not understand that? He was bleeding and on the floor...he wasn't breathing...

He clutched at Jared's hair tightly. _Jared!_

"Sam!" He panted hard, eyes squeezed shut as he let a few tears loose. He quickly buried his face into Jared's neck, masking his face from the camera in front of him as he started to actually cry.

Then, a ring sounded off somewhere, and Jensen was quickly brought back into reality. But that didn't really fix anything.

It felt like Jared had actually died. It felt like it was all real. _'Why the hell do we have to be this good?!_ ' But inside Jensen was relieved. Jared was alive and well, and breathing normally again.

When the director yelled cut, Jared started to escape from Jensen's grasp- all feeling of being limp completely forgotten. But Jensen was not having it. He was scared and upset and like hell would he let Jared leave his arms just yet.

"Jensen? Hey the director yelled-"

"I know what the director yelled." Jensen interrupted his tall colleague, not bothering to let up his tight grip. "Just.. give me a second, okay?"

 _'Give me a second to remember you weren't the one who died._ '

He heard everyone around him waiting curiously for the two boys to let go, and he could practically feel the inside of Jared's head figuring out what was wrong with him- wheel's turning and all. When he heard a small gasp of surprise hear his ear he could tell Jared figured it out. He had expected it- Jared Padalecki was a smart cookie- but what he hadn't expected was for Jared to bring his arms around his neck and hug Jensen back gently.

"Hey, it's okay, man." He heard his voice speak in his ear, too quiet for anyone else to hear. "I'm okay. I'm okay. Hey, I'm alright." He reassured. "You still have to live with me, I'm not going away just yet."

It was then that Jensen realized his face was still wet from tears, and he dug his head deeper in Jared's collarbone to dry his cheeks and hide his embarrassment. He cried at a fake death, _oh dear god_.

"Shut up." Was all he could weakly say in response. His heart warmed at Jared's deep chuckle that rumbled in his chest, and he smiled. Jared was okay, and he didn't have to worry right now. He'd be Sam again soon, dead on a table for the next episode, and Jensen was going to hate it. So he took his time to relishing the feeling of being wrapped in Jared's arms and hearing his strong breathing and deep laughter, storing the sound away for later so he could replay it in his mind later on.

"At least now I know you'll miss me when I die."

"Jared, I said _shut up._ "


End file.
